The Cowboys needed a savior. They needed someone who could carry the team on his shoulders and wasn't afraid to lead them back to the promise land. That's what the Cowboys were hoping for when they selected Troy Aikman with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft.
They got exactly that, and so much more.
Aikman was every bit the franchise player the Cowboys and their fans hoped he would be. The tall, strong-armed passer looked the part, for sure. But he didn't just pass the eye test, Aikman passed every other test along the way, becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and one of the best players to ever wear the Star.
And to think that Aikman's career began with 11 straight losses as a starting quarterback. He didn't earn his first victory until 1990, but once he got some help around him with the likes of running back Emmitt Smith, wide receiver Michael Irvin, tight end Jay Novacek, and an offensive line that became one of the toughest in football, Aikman flourished like the superstar he was supposed to be.
Whatever the Cowboys needed, he was there to provide it. Aikman had the ability to step back and allow Smith to take over, but in games when the Cowboys needed him to rally the team, he could do that as well.
In his 11th season, Aikman engineered a furious comeback to beat the Washington Redskins, 41-35, on Sept. 12, 1999. He erased a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to get the game into overtime, where he then won it with a 76-yard touchdown pass to "Rocket" Ismail.
Named the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII after throwing four touchdown passes, Aikman led the Cowboys to two more titles over the next three seasons. He also earned six trips to the Pro Bowl and was the 1997 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.
Aikman finished his career with 90 wins in the decade of the 1990s, then the most by any quarterback in any decade. And he still ranks among franchise leaders for career completions (2,898), passing yards (32,942) and touchdown throws (165).
He was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2005 and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2006.